Central New York Injury Lawyer Blog

Who Was Lavern Wilkinson And Why Did A Would-Be Law Named After Her Recently Get Crushed In The New York Senate?

September 4, 2015 | by Michael Bersani

Lavern Wilkinson was a thirty something year-old single mom with mild chest pain. Being of a cautious nature, she thought to get the chest pain looked into. This eventually brought her to Kings County Hospital in New York City for chest x-ray. The results, she was told, were just perfect. Go home. Nothing to worry about.

Two years later, with more significant symptoms, and with the aid of another x-ray, she was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. It had spread to other organs. She was terminal. Her doctors then looked back at that old x-ray and saw a nodule in its early stage. It was plainly visible. At that stage, it could have been easily removed surgically. She could have been cured.

Now, though, it was too late. But it was not too late – she hoped – for a lawsuit. After all, she was a poor single mother with an autistic 15 year-old daughter who was about to become motherless. Her daughter would need the compensation Lavern was entitled to. Her case, she figured, was a slam dunk.

Central NY Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Describes Dangers Abroad

September 2, 2015 | by Michael Bersani

I love traveling to far flung places, and when I do I like to penetrate deep into the places’ streets and culture. Speaking several languages (English, Spanish and French) helps me delve into the culture and mindset. But there are some things I never really “get” when I am abroad.

Take my recent trip to Morocco. Lovely country. Stunning landscape. Beautiful labyrinthine old walled cities (“Medinas”), home to mile after mile of colorful scent-laden souks and open market stands displaying gorgeous hand-crafted silverware, carpets, foods, spices, exotic dresses, handmade crafts, and zillions of other cool stuff. Gorgeous!

But as a humble Central New York injury lawyer, there was something more compelling that drew my attention — indeed my extreme caution: Motorcycles. They drove through the narrow crowded streets brushing by people and stalls as if they were slalom ski gates. I was afraid that if my wife or I took just one small step left or right while admiring the goods in the stalls, a motorcycle from behind would bowl us down. And, according to my Marrakesh taxi driver, that’s not an infrequent occurrence. Marrakesh’s Medina produces on average 10 motorcycle-on-pedestrian collisions a day!

Construction Accidents Are Often Caused By Greed, Recent Case Demonstrates

September 1, 2015 | by Michael Bersani

Back in 2008 a crane collapse in New York City made headline news. The huge tower crane had plummeted from an impressive height in a densely populated area of the city, causing unprecedented human and property destruction. The case was of special interest to me as a Central New York construction accident lawyer. We don’t usually have cranes that big up here, but the dangers and risks of construction work are similar.

When something like that happens, you know someone was careless or negligent. A crane does not collapse without a reason. Someone failed to build it right, or to maintain it, or to use it properly. The only real question is who.

Usually in a case like this, several possible culprits point fingers at each other (the manufacturer, the maintenance service company, the operator, etc.). This case was no exception. The owner of the crane pointed toward the crane operator for hoisting a load that “was too heavy”. The operator – who was one of the injured plaintiffs — blamed the crane owner for repairing the crane with a defective bearing he knew or should have known would eventually fail.

New York Judge Denies Request to Extend Legal Rights to 2 Chimps

August 30, 2015 | by Michael Bersani

I blogged about this case before when the judge granted the monkeys a hearing. But I find it fascinating and wanted to post an update.

In a case watched closely by animal rights activists, a State Supreme Court judge in Manhattan recently denied a petition by a not-for-profit animal rights group seeking to free a pair of chimpanzees, Hercules and Leo, being held at a state university on Long Island.

The petition sought a writ of habeas corpus (a time-honored process of challenging imprisonment as unlawful) for the chimps. The group argued that the animals are so genetically superior to other animals and so similar to humans (they share 99% of DNA with humans) that they should be deemed “human” at least to the extent that they should not be locked up without good cause. Expert affidavits were submitted attesting to the monkeys’ language prowess, intelligence, and personalities. Among other human-like traits, chimps have a keen sense of self-awareness (they recognize themselves in a mirror).

Award In NY Personal Injury Cases Can’t Be Tied To Ethnicity, Judge Rules

August 28, 2015 | by Michael Bersani

They say that justice is blind, but anyone who believes that is truly blind. Examples of inherent bias in our judicial system abound. For example, blacks get the death penalty and heavy sentences far more often than whites for the same crimes. Poor people – who can’t afford a “dream team” of lawyers and instead rely on assigned counsel — have far less success in court than their wealthier “lawyered up” counterparts.

And unfairness does not plague just our criminal justice system. Our civil justice system is also contaminated with it. Although statistics are not available locally, it is common belief among the local bar in Central New York that if you are black, poor, excessively overweight or just plain ugly, you are likely to get a smaller money award in your New York personal injury or medical malpractice case than if you are white, well-off, thin and good-looking. That’s why most competent personal injury trial lawyers will talk to a jury – in the jury selection process – about these prejudices, and try to weed out of the jurors who are more likely affected by them.

Like it or not, judges and juries are just regular people with regular prejudices. But courts – and your lawyer – nevertheless have a duty to try to combat them – to even out the scales of justice. A recent case illustrates this.

Driver-less, Crash-less Cars Will Transform Our Economy: Central NY Injury Lawyer Explains.

August 27, 2015 | by Michael Bersani

I have blogged about the new driver-less automated cars before, and how they will dramatically reduce car crashes and fatalities. This future is not far off. The first true self-driving vehicles are expected before the end of the decade. A fleet surpassing 50% of all vehicles on the road could be here within 20 years.

We will be much better off with them for sure! But what I never really considered – until I read a recent article – was the profound effect driver-less cars will have on our economy. That’s what I’ll consider in this blog post.

To recap about driver-less cars, human driven cars will soon be going the way of the horse and buggy. An automated self-driving fleet of vehicles will almost certainly replace the current human-driven one within the next 25 years. The new fleet will have many advantages over the present one, but one of the most notable is that they will hardly ever crash. A study by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) predicts that a self-driving fleet could eliminate 93 percent of crashes attributed to human error. This means, among other things, that we will be able to drink ourselves senseless without worrying about criminal penalties of “driving” drunk.

All Four Michaels Bersani Kalabanka Lawyers Selected For The 2016 “Best Lawyers in America” Directory.

August 26, 2015 | by Michael Bersani

Modesty gets you nowhere. Sometimes you have to toot your own horn. (Just ask Donald Trump . . .). And today we are doing just that:

We proudly proclaim that all four Michaels Bersani Kalabanka Lawyers – Lee Michaels, Jan Smolak, Michael Bersani and David Kalabanka — were selected by their peers to be listed in a national directory of top-rated attorneys, “Best Lawyers in America”, for 2016. They were listed in the categories of “plaintiffs’ personal injury law” and “products liability law”.

The inclusion in Best Lawyers is limited to the best of the best — based entirely on peer-review (lawyers rating lawyers). According to the Best Lawyers publishers, the way they select lawyers to be listed

“Trucks Are Killing Us”, says NY Times and Central NY Injury Lawyer

August 25, 2015 | by Michael Bersani

Just read a New York Times op-ed piece titled “Trucks Are Killing Us”. As Syracuse NY trucking accident lawyers, we already knew that. And we also knew that truck-accident fatalities are increasing at the same time as car fatalities are decreasing. That’s because trucks are getting bigger and heavier, and their drivers are not getting any better. And that puts all of us who are on the road in danger.

We’re on the road – so to speak – to a major national trucking accident crisis. And what is congress doing about it? Making matters worse! Here are some of the things Congress has done according to the article:

trimmed back well-considered safety improvements ordered by federal regulators, including, for example, a rule that allowed truck drivers to work only 70 hours a week (the new rule allows for 82 hours);

New Technology Keeps Swimmers Safe, Says CNY Injury Lawyer

August 23, 2015 | by Michael Bersani

At Michaels Bersani Kalabanka, we’ve seen our share of drowning cases. Usually they involve children too young to know how to swim. In fact, besides car accidents, drowning is the leading cause of death for children under 12 years old.

Cars have seat belts, and there are helmets for bikes, but what is there to protect children and others from the dangers of drowning? Life jackets you say? What child wants to wear those bulky things on the beach or near the pool? Enter “Kingii“. It looks like a large bracelet. It sports a rectangular pouch loaded with carbon dioxide. It weighs less than five ounces and is about the size of a smartphone. It costs only $79. In trouble in the water? Just tug on the bracelet and – voila – a CO2 cartridge inflates a hidden orange flotation device. This device works well for both children and adults.

Check out this video to see how it works:

New York’s Highest Court Grants Dog Owners Impunity For Releasing Dogs Into Traffic.

June 12, 2015 | by Michael Bersani

I have a love/hate relationship with dogs. I love my dog, but I hate dogs who chase me on my bike or who snarl at me on my runs. When I go bike riding out on the country roads near Geneva, NY where I live, I even carry a small pepper spray canister to defend myself from man’s best friend.

Yes, I protect myself from “unleashed” dogs. But unfortunately, New York State negligence law does not. Believe me. As a NY personal injury lawyer who handles dog bite / attack cases, I know first hand!

The problem in New York – unlike in other states – is that to hold a dog owner liable for injuries, you need to show the owner knew or should have known the dog had “vicious propensities”. If you do, the owner is “strictly” liable to you for your injuries. That’s all well and good where a dog with a history of biting or attacking bites you, but not much else.